Trapattoni rejects Blackburn link

Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has distanced himself from claims that he could be interested in the vacant post at Blackburn.

The 73-year-old spoke out amid suggestions that his advisors had be in contact with Rovers owners Venky's as they look for a successor to Steve Kean.

Trapattoni said: "I'm not aware of it. It must be agent chit-chat. I'm not interested anyway. I am concentrating on the task in hand."

That task is currently Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Germany at the Aviva Stadium on Friday evening.

It is not the first time Trapattoni has been linked with another job during his four and a half-year reign with the Republic.

However, he signed a contract extension in November last year after guiding them to the Euro 2012 finals.

That deal runs until after the World Cup finals in Brazil in 2014, although a poor showing in Poland and Ukraine has left the veteran Italian with something to prove to his increasingly vociferous critics.

Trapattoni has been criticised in particular for his rigid approach to both tactics and personnel.

Ironically, he is likely to change both for Friday's game with injuries and the retirements of Shay Given and Damien Duff robbing him of tried and trusted players, while he is planning to adopt a three-man midfield formation in an attempt to nullify Germany's 4-3-3 set-up.